Gasperini’s Atalanta side were mighty impressive as they thrashed Everton in the Europa League.
David Unsworth surely saw his chances of landing the Everton manager’s job on a permanent basis go up in smoke with Thursday’s 5-1 home thrashing by Atalanta in the Europa League.
But a solution to Everton’s ongoing search for Ronald Koeman’s replacement, which is now over a month long, may have presented itself in the form of Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini.
Those Everton supporters who did make it to a half-empty Goodison Park couldn’t have failed to be impressed by the way that the 59-year-old Italian had got his uncelebrated Serie A side playing.
Atalanta were physical and well organised – attributes associated with the Everton side that was a force under David Moyes – and also attacked in great numbers and with flair in wide areas.
Gasperini’s side have not been as consistently effective in domestic competition this season as they sit 12th in the Serie A table, but their fourth-place finish last year was their best since 1922.
Considering Atalanta’s three relegations to Serie B in 14 years, Gasperini’s achievement would be the equivalent of taking West Bromwich Albion to the Champions League in English football.
Gasperini also worked miracles at Genoa, whom he led to promotion from the second tier in his first season, and then to fifth in Serie A – their highest finish in two decades – only a couple of years later.
With leading contenders Marco Silva and Sam Allardyce having been ruled out of the running, according to Sky Sports, Everton could do a lot worse than look into Gasperini as their new boss.
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